Expert Group Meeting

Good practices in legislation to address harmful practices against women
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
25 to 28 May 2009

The United Nations Division for the Advancement of Women of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDAW/DESA) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) convened an expert group meeting on good practices in legislation to address harmful practices, which was held at the United Nations at Addis Ababa, from 25 to 28 May 2009.

The expert group meeting was a follow up to an expert group meeting organized by UNDAW/DESA and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in Vienna, from 26 to 28 May 2008, on good practices in legislation on violence against women. That meeting prepared a model framework for legislation on violence against women, including detailed recommendations, commentaries and examples of promising practices. The framework contains two types of recommendations: those that are applicable to all forms of violence against women; and those that are specific to domestic violence or sexual violence. The purpose of this expert group meeting was to further develop the framework by elaborating specific recommendations for legislation on harmful practices against women.